1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle seat assembly adapted to be mounted to a vehicle floor by a track assembly and including a seat back pivotally coupled to a seat cushion by a recliner mechanism wherein an easy entry track mechanism allows the seat assembly to slide fore and aft along the track assembly between a passenger comfort position and a full forward position in response to pivotal movement of the seat back between an upright position and a forwardly dumped position while a recliner lockout mechanism retains the seat back in the forward dumped position until the seat assembly is returned to a passenger comfort position.
2. Description of Related Art
Automotive vehicles typically include one or more seat assemblies having a seat cushion and a seat back for supporting passengers above a vehicle floor. The seat assembly is commonly mounted to the vehicle floor by a seat track assembly for providing fore and aft adjustment of the seat assembly for passenger comfort. The seat back is also typically pivotally coupled to the seat cushion by a recliner mechanism for providing pivotal movement between an upright seating position, a plurality of reclined positions, and a forwardly dumped position at least partially overlying the seat cushion.
The seat track assembly provides sliding fore and aft movement of the seat assembly between a plurality of passenger comfort positions, and a full forward, or easy entry, position. It is commonly known to provide a release mechanism for selectively unlocking the recliner mechanism to provide pivotal movement of the seat back to the forwardly dumped position. It is also known to provide an easy entry release mechanism for unlocking the seat track assembly in response to pivotal movement of the seat back to the forwardly dumped position. It is known to actuate both release mechanisms to enable pivotal movement of the seat back to the forwardly dumped position and forward sliding of the seat assembly to the full forward position to allow easy ingress and egress within the vehicle behind the seat assembly.
It is desirable to provide a recliner lockout mechanism which retains the seat back in the forward dumped position until the seat assembly is returned from the forwardly dumped position to a passenger comfort position.